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MANILA - Malacanang has turned down the unsolicited proposal of SM Land Inc. to develop a military lot in Fort Bonifacio South, opting instead to sell the property through an open competitive bidding, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority said on Thursday.
Arnel Paciano D. Casanova, BCDA president and chief executive, said the agency decided to set aside the unsolicited proposal in line with President Benigno Aquino III's directive.
"The Office of the President has decided to put the development of the subject property on public bidding. In this light, we regret to inform you that we are terminating the proceedings on the competitive challenge and shall be returning the proposal security," BCDA said in an August 15 letter to SM Land vice president David Rafael.
“May we take this opportunity to invite SMLI to participate in the bidding for the subject property," the letter further read.
SM Land had proposed to develop the 33.1-hectare BNS/PMC/Ascom/SSU property for P20 billion.
BCDA sought challengers to SM Land's proposal in invitations published on August 12, 16 and 30 in 2010.
The Aquino administration however put on hold all unsolicited proposals pending a review.
Casanova said it will be more advantageous to government to conduct open competitive bidding for its land assets since it will not only result in getting the best price but the best development for the property.
“Transparency, which is the heart of public bidding, will ensure that everything is above board. This in turn will encourage the best bidders to compete in a level playing field,” he said.
The property is located along Lawton Avenue and is separated from the Jusmag property by the Namria area and a six-hectare strip of land retained by the Philippine Army.
Casanova said the BCDA board is expected to approve the terms of reference for the forthcoming bidding.
“The 33.1 hectare BNS/PMC/ASCOM/SSU property, which is at the southern side of Bonifacio Global City is between Newport City and McKinley West and near posh Forbes Park,” Casanova said.
“We expect the open competitive bidding of this prime property to attract the country’s top real estate developers and unlock the best value for government,” he said.
The BNS/PMC/ASCOM/SSU property is composed of lands occupied by the Army Support Command and Special Services Unit of the Philippine Army, the Bonifacio Naval Station, and the Philippine Marine Corps of the Philippine Navy.
Besides SM Land, six other real estate developers expressed interest in the property, namely Ayala Land Inc., Filinvest Land Inc., Jones Lang La Salle-Leechiu, Megaworld Corp., Robinsons Land Corp., and Rockwell Land Corp.
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